So after having seen the changes in the latest stress test (8/15/12) a good amount of my builds got weaker/changed, so what to do…adjust our builds!

This build focuses on being a bruiser, a front-line combatant as it were. It excels in group play and can do some devastating combos with allies. It brings as much CC and damage as possible whilst still being tanky enough to survive the melee frenzy.

This build features the hammer/sword + shield combo.-The hammer brings huge cc capability and control to the field, and synergizes well with itself via the Merciless Hammer trait, gaining +50% damage to disabled targets.-The sword gives us access to bleeds, a much needed gap closer which synergizes with Mobile Strikes, and even more cc.-The shield offers yet another gap closer and a defensive cd, perfect for our role

Now most builds focus on either condition damage OR direct damage. This build focuses mostly on direct damage, with condition damage on the side, though having the con dmg is very important!

Like I said before most of the damage will come from the hammer. This is because you get +10% dmg vs bleeding foes, which will be up almost nonstop with our huge +65% bleed duration. Also +50% dmg vs disabled foes via Merciless Hammer, which will trigger during our hammer combo which I explain below. This coupled with our decent power level and very high crit will lead to huge spike damage for focusing targets.

Things to note when using this build:-This is not a rotation! Adapt to what the enemy does, they will have stun breakers and dodge rolls, try to bait them out and anticipate them. The hammer is bulky and slow so you have to bide your time until they cannot escape.-Why auto attacks instead of the other skills during the combo you ask? The hammer skills are far to slow, you would only get 1 attack per disable and we need as many attacks as possible benefiting from our merciless hammer trait. You can easily get 2-3 auto attack per disable as the auto-attack chain is quick, and 4-5 with quickness.-If you are 1 vs many use Balance Stance so they cannot stop your combo.-If they stunbreak or run out of range cancel your big cd abilities like backbreaker.-If you don’t have frenzy up (and you won’t for every fight, it’s a long cd) save a hard cc for when they hit 25% hp to combo with Last Chance, which gives you 4 seconds of quickness. This way you can burst them down fast enough to still have quickness for the stomp.-Don’t be afraid to use movement skills solely to break immobilize, this build is built to have as much up-time on the target as possible.-Be aware of when your teammates go down, you are an ideal reviver. Use Earthshaker and Staggering Blow to stop stomps and Balanced Stance for an almost guaranteed revive.

Build weaknesses:-The build somewhat relies on its own cc for durability. It has a huge hp pool but abysmal toughness-Lack of condition removal. Signet of stamina is only form of condition removal (36s cd)

Ok, that is about it, what do you guys think? Any comments/crit are welcome, particularly on runes, sigils, amulet choice.

I don't think sword synergies very well into a direct damage build like that. If you want to get the +10% damage to bleeding targets considering taking the rifle instead. It gives you a ranged dd weapon to take advantage of all that power/crit. I think furious would be a better choice for the grand master arms as well. For sigils you should take a look at air since it increases damage with power. Maybe air/blood or air/leeching.

I think the rifle would be a great option if I were going for a full dps spec and it would suffice for bleeding the target, however the sword & shield gives the build way more defensive options. It gives a 600 rng leap, a 300 rng leap, a stun, and 3 seconds of invulnerability, whereas the rifle would only give a knockback. This build already on the squishy side for being a tank (something I am trying to tweak). Also I will look into the air sigil, that could be a great increase in dps.